Card game apparatus



' Nov. 3, 1942 i A L. WILLIS 2,300,737

CARD GAME APPARATUS Filed June- 27, 1939 Patented Nov. 3, 1942 UNHTEDSTATES PTENT OFFICE CARD GAME AIPPARATUS Russell Leo Willis,Steubenville, Ohio Application June 27, 1939, Serial No. 281,323

4 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in devices which permit a person toplay solo-fashion card games which ordinarily require the presence of aplurality of players. More particularly it relates to devices of thistype which are designed to simulate the play of the card game known asContract Bridge.

One object of the invention is to provide a device which exposes thefifty-two card values in groups of four in a manner similar to thatemployed in the actual game of playing thirteen tricks. Another objectis to provide an apparatus which can be made of materials and in formswhich are artistic and ornamental. A still further object is to providean apparatus which is easy to understand and to operate, and whichcan bemade from fewer parts than are required for devices now obtainable. Thissimplicity of construction, by reducing the cost of manufacture, canreduce the selling price of such devices and thus make it available tothose who can not afford the devices now available. A still furtherobject is to provide an apparatus which does not have the fault commonto othertypes of such devices of revealing to the user prematurelyinformation concerning subsequent play of card-values.

I attain these objects by the mech-c-anism illustrated in theaccompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a plan View of the device;

Figure 2 is a vertical section taken along line A-A of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a plan view of a playing-sheet used in the device; and

Figure 4 is a vertical section taken along the line B-B' of Figure l.

ISimilar numerals refer to similar part throughout the drawing.

The main structural framework of the device is a hollow circular case20. This can be made of wood, metal, fibre-board, leather, plasticmaterial, hardened rubber, or similar material. The case is open at itstop. A circular top 22 is attached to the case by means of the hinge 2i.A latch member 23 which is attached to the case at a point opposite thehinge engages the top' 22 in such manner as to lock the top in a closedposition. The shape of the case can be varied if desired.

A cap-screw 24 is seated in a recess 21 in the center of the bottom ofthe case 20. It passes into the interior of the case 20 by means of thecircular hole 25 and its upper end is rigidly attached to a table member28. The cap-screw 24 is free to rotate in the hole 25. Thus the tablemember 28 can rotate inside the case 20. The

table member 28 is preferably a thin flat circular disk which can bemade of any suitable material such as wood, or metal, or plasticmaterial. On its upper surface there is a short knob 30 which extendsabove the balance of its upper surface. I have shown it located at thecenter and as having a shape similar to an arrow head. As will be laterexplained this serves as a key; 'to engage with a similar shaped hole ina playing sheet which is placed on top of the table 28. The shape oftheknob 30 may be varied but. it should preferably be non-circular. It neednot necessarily be positioned at the center of the table 28, but ispreferably positioned there. It serves to properly center the playingsheet on the table 28 and since it has a distinguishing shape it alsoserves to require the user to position the playing sheet in a particularposition on the table with regard to a handle extension of the tablewhich will be explained later..

As more clearly shown in Figure 3 the numeral 3| indicates a playingsheet member. Figure 3 is an enlarged view of such a playing sheet.These sheets are preferably made of paper and they have. a hole 32perforated through their centres. I have shown such a hole by thenumeral 32. It is shaped like an arrow-head so that it can fit over theknob 30. It will be seen that when sheet 3| is positioned on the table28, any rotation of table 28 will cause similar rotation of sheet 3|.

The top 22 serves as a mask for the playing sheet 3|, and it also servesas a playing board for the device. The top 22 has cut through it aplurality of apertures which permit the. user to view through themcertain portions of the playing sheet 3 l.

In Figure 1 I have shown the approximatercenter of the top 22 by theletter C. Considering this as the center-point of a compass-likepicturization, it will be notedrthat at each of the four -quartercompass points, namely, North, 'East,

South, and West, there is located a small slot-like aperture through thetop 22. These four apertures are indicated -bythe numerals 33N, 33E,33S,

and 33W. In the using of the device they represent respectively theplayers North, East, South, and West as these ter-Ins are employed inthe terminology common to the game of Contract Bridge.

The aperture 33N is equipped with a shutterclosure apparatus which isdesigned to expose or to obturate the aperture 33N. This apparatuscomprises the shutter member 3l'N, which is preferably a thin sheet ofmetal, and a fastening member such as the rivet 38N which attaches theshutter 3'|N to the top 22. Shutter -3'|N rotates about the rivet 38N topermit of its being placed in or out of alinement with aperture 33N. Anycommonly-used shutter construction can be substituted for that shown.

There are similar shutter apparati co-operating with the apertures 33E,33S, and 33W. The shutter members are indicated by the numerals 31E,31S, and 31W respectively. The rivet members are indicated by thenumerals 38E, 38S, and 38W respectively.

Two elongated arcuate apertures, 34 and 35 respectively are cut throughthe top 22.

Figure 3 shows a plurality of indicia inscribed on sheet 3|.

For the most part these indicia are arranged in groups. There is onegroup, indicated by the numeral 39, comprising fifteen indicia whichextends in an are from the point K to the point L. Another group offifteen indicia which is indicated by the numeral 40 extends in an arefrom the point L to the point M. A third group of indicia indicated bythe numeral 4| extends from the point M to the point R. A fourth groupof fifteen indicia, indicated by the numeral 42, extends from the pointR to the point K.

The group of indicia 39 represents, reading in a counterclockwisedirection from the indicium 2 of hearts to the indicium 6 of clubs theprogressive sequence of bids made and cardvalues played in thisparticular game of Contract Bridge by player 'North. In similar fashiongroups 40, 4|, and 42 represent the same things respectively for playersWest, South and East.

In this particular hand the number of indicia in each group is fifteen.The number-may vary and will correspond to the number of separate bidsmade by each player plus the constant 13. Where the indicium shown isthe letter P this is a symbol meaning Pass.

There is another group of indicia on theplaying sheet 3|. This group isindicated by the numeral 43 and it extends in an are from the point T tothe point H. It will be noted that the card-value indicia in this groupcorrespond to the card-value indicia which appear in group 4|. However,in group 43 these indicia are arranged according to suits whereas ingroup 4| the order of arrangement is according to the sequence of playof the card values. Just below each of the individual indicia in group43 there is an enclosed blank spade'indicated by the numeral 44.

spaces.

There is another group of indicia inscribed on playing-sheet 3| whichextends in an are from the point V to'the point Y. This group iindicated by the numeral 45 and it will be noted that it has the samecard-value indicia as are shown in group 39. But in group 45 thecard-values are arranged according to suits, whereas the order ofarrangement of the indicia in group 39 is in accord with the sequence ofplay of the card values. Each indicium of the. group 45 has adjacent toit one of the blank check-mark spaces 46.

On sheet 3| I have also shown another set of indicia which extends in anare from the point D to the point F. This isthe group 55, and theindicia in this group are scoring numerals as will be explained later, I

As shown in Figure 4, a portion of the table 28 extends in the form of,a handle 5| through the There are thirteen of these blank elongatedaperture 36 in the side wall of the case 20.

In Figure 1, I have shown a cover-plate member 41 which rests on top ofthe top 22. This is preferably a flat disk which is semi-circular inshape, and whose purpose is to temporarily cover the aperture 35. It isnormally held in place by means of two short pins 48, attached rigidlyto the plate 4'! and which fit loosely in two pinholes drilled in thetop 22. When desired the cover plate 41 can be lifted off the top 22 andlaid aside.

To operate the apparatus the user raises the top 22 and places on thetable 28 one of the playing sheets 3| with the indicia facing upwards.He then closes down the top 22 and fastens it in a closed position bymeans of the latch 23. The shutters 3'IN, 31E, 31S, and 31W have beenclosed. The cover plate 4! is in its normal position on top of the case.The user has moved the handle to a position at the upper end of theaperture 36.

The group of indicia 43 and the |3 spaces 44 are now visible through theaperture 34. There is also visible through aperture 34 a single indiciumS. There is inscribed on the top 22 the inscription Dealer, as indicatedby the numeral 21. An arrow-mark extends from this inscription to theedge of aperture 34. Another inscription reading Vulnerable indicated bynumeral 49 in Figure 1 is also inscribed on the top 22. An arrow-markextends from this inscription to the edge of the aperture 34.

There is inscribed on sheet 3| at a point now in alinement with thefirst of these arrow marks the indicium S indicated by the numeral 50.This is a symbol which means that for this hand the South player is thedealer. .Q

If player North East or West were the dealer, the indicium -S would bechanged to the indicium N, E, or W respectively.

It will also be noted that there is inscribed on playing sheet 3| at apoint which is now in alinement with the arrow which extends from theinscription Vulnerable. a single indicium which reads N. This indicatesthat the North and south partnership is vulnerable. This indicium N isshown in Figure 3 and is designated by the numeral '29. If the East andWest partnership were vulnerable this indicium .N would be changed toread E. If neither partnership were vulnerable a blank space wouldappear where the N now appears.

, The user of the device studies the card-values as indicated by thegroup of indicia 43 and makes a mental selction of his opening bid. Hechecks this by opening the shutter 31S, and then in sequence opensshutters 31W, 31N and 31E. This will expose through apertures 33S, 33W,33N, and 33E the indicia representing One heart, Pass, Two hearts, and-Two' spades respectively. These are the original bids of players South,West, North, and East respectively. He then closes the. shutters 31S,31W, 3|N, and 31E. He again studies his own card-holdings, makes anothermental bid, and checks this by again opening the shutter 31S. But beforehe opens shutter 31S for the second time, he has grasped in sliding thehandle from one notch to the next assays? one it will have rotated theplaying sheet 3| a sufiicient distance to have positioned at theapertures 33S, 33W, 33N, and 33E the next cons'ec-utive indicium of thegroups which are designed to be exposed at these respective apertures,namely, the groups 39, 40, 4|, and 42 respectively. Accordingly when theuser has again opened the shutter 31S he will view through aperture 338the indicium Four of hearts, which is his second bid.

He then opens in sequence the shutters 31W, 3'|N, and 3113. At apertures33W, 33N, and 33E he sees the indicia Pass Pass, and Pass. Theserepresent the second bids of players West, North, and East respectively,and this also indicates that he has won the contract with hissecond bidof Four hearts. This means that -player West will makethe opening lead.I

The user of the device closes shutters 31S, 37W,

3'|N, and 31E, and again slides the handle another notch down the slot38. He then opens shutter 37W and sees the indicium Queen of spadesthrough aperture 33W. He then grasps the cover-plate member 47 and liftsit ofi the top 22 and lays it aside. This exposes the aperture 35. Italso exposes the group of indicia 45 and the thirteen blank spaces 46which are visible through the aperture 35, I

He makes a mental selection of a card to be played from the card-valuesindicated by the group of indicia 45. Then he opens shutter 3'IN andchecks his selection. With a'pencil or other writing instrument he makesa check-mark in the blank space 46 immediately beneath the indicium ingroup 45 which corresponds with the indicium of group 39 which is nowvisible through the aperture 33N. In this case he makes the check-markin the blank space 46 which is beneath the indicium 6 of spades. He thenopens shutter 3lE which exposes the indicium '7 of spades. He then makesa mental selection of a card to play from the group 4| and checks thisby opening shutter 318. This exposes the indicium 3 of spades, and hemakes a pencil check-mark in the blank space 44 directly beneath the 3of spades indicium in the group of indicia 43.

He then closes shutters 3TN, 31E, 31S, and 37W,

and moves the handle 5| downwardly one notch,

thus rotating the playing sheet. This makes the first of the scoringindicia in the group 55 appear at the aperture 5! which is cut throughthe top 22. In this case the particular indicium which appears ataperture 51 is the indiciiun 0, meaning zero. The numerals which areprogressively positioned at this aperture are designed to indicate thenumber of tricks which have been won by the Declarer prior to the trickwhich is currently being played. The first trick was won by theEast-and-west partnership. Therefore, in resuming the play, the userfirst opens shutter 37W, and then, in sequence, the shutters 31N, 31E,and 31S. He makes the proper pencil check-marks in the spaces 46 and 44.These check-marks indicate to him that these individual card-values havebeen played once in this game and are not to be played again.

The second trick is Won by player South, so that after he has closed theshutters and rotated the playing sheet, he proceeds as before until thethirteen tricks have been played. In each case the first shutter to beopened in the play of a new trick is the one which corresponds to theplayer who won the preceding trick.

When the game is completed the top 22 is nd the sheet 3| is removed fromthe table v h new playing sheet'having a different combinat on ofcard-values shown in the players hands is inserted. I do not limitmyself to the particular distribution of card values shown in the oneplaying sheet 3| which is illustrated in Figure 3.- The sheets 3| canfbeinscribed to show any possible distributionof card values among thefour-players. If desired both sides of the paper can be inscribed withdifferent card distributions. When ag'ame'has been completed thepencil-check marks can be erased and'the' same sheet used again.=-

It will be noted that the arouate apertures 34 and 35 are'ofsufficientlength so'that the indicia designed tobevisible through themremain visible-in-spi'te of thero'ta'tion of the playing sheet 3|. 'Ihave described only one embodiment of the invention.' Many variations ofthe design shown could be made and still-come within the scope of theinventi'on.- For instance, the space between the top surface ofthe-table 28 and the bottom surface of the top 22 might be increased soas to permit of the insertion of a plurality of playing sheets 3| at onetime.- Diiferent distributions of card "holdings" and games could beinscribed on each side of the playing sheet member 3|. s t

The method of mounting the'table member 23 in the case can bevaried.Insteadof using the set-screw 24,a'construction could be used whichwould require a small tit on the bottom of the table 28 which wouldrotate-freely in the hole 25. 'Or'the table 28 could be d'etachablysuspended from the top 22 by-means of a shaft imbedded in 22 which couldpass through ahole in the center of table 28 and have a suitablethreaded lower end so that a nut and washer could be screwed on and offof it. In this construction the lower wall of the case 20 could bedispensed with, and the side walls could be made slightly longer.

In the drawing I have shown the indicia of groups 39, 40, 4|, and 42inscribed in arcs which are concentric and equi-distant from the centerof the concentric arcs. This also applies to arcs comprising the groups43 and 45 which are also equi-distant from the concentric point. Thedistance from this center point to the are 39, 44, 4| or 42 need not bethe same. The distance from this center point to arc 43 can be difierentthan the distance from the center point to are 45. These respectivedistances do not have to vary but they may vary if desired. The properpositioning of all of the indicia on the playing sheet is determined bythe desire to have certain indicia register at their co-operatingapertures in the playing board. Therefore they will be spaced within theareas defined by this limitation, and

the spacing between any two adjacent indicia in a group will depend ontheir respective distances from the common center point. angle includedbetween imaginary radial lines which pass through adjacent indicia inany group is the same for all groups and for all indicia within a group,the distance from the common center point to the arcs may vary.

I have shown such imaginary radial lines as dotted lines in Figure 3. Ineach case the angle included between adjacent lines is indicated by thesymbol Theta and they are all equal as shown.

The movement of the playing sheet is in a circular direction and. theimportant thing is that As long as the the disposition shown is suchthat a rotation of the sheet by any certain distance, such, forinstance, as a five degree rotation, will position at the North, East,South, and West players apertures series of their respective indiciasimultaneously.

It will be seen that the lay-out of the playing board very closelyresembles the conditions encountered in the actual game of contractbridge. Four card values are displayed for each trick; each of these isexposed at a place on the playing board which remains constantthroughout the game; the declarers and the dummys hand are the only onesvisible tothe player; and there is no possibility of there being exposedprematurely any information pertinent to the play of the game. Theconfusing use of so-called key-numbers to indicate what card should beplayed is eliminated. This use of key-numbers is not encountered in theactual game and isunnecessary in this device. Its use in other devicesof this type results in the user going througha series oftrial-and-error operations during which there is a great likelihood oflearning something prematurely about the play of cards not needed forthat particular trick. This robs the game of its uncertainty and marsthe enjoyment of the balance of the game, because there is littlePleasure in computing a problem when you already know the answerbefore-hand.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a game educational apparatus, a chart having four arcuate rows ofcard indicia thereon corresponding respectively to four hands of a cardgame, each row indicating the preferred order of playing the cards of agiven hand; and a relatively movable mask for said chart having windowmeans therein to expose said indicia as said chart and said mask arerotated relatively to each other.

2. In a game educational apparatus, a chart having four arcuate rows ofcard indicia thereon corresponding respectively to four hands of a cardgame, each row indicating the preferred order of bidding and playing thecards of a given hand; and a relatively movable mask for said charthaving window means therein to expose said indicia as said chart andsaid mask are rotated relatively to each other.

3. In a game educational apparatus, a chart having four arcuate rows ofcard indicia thereon corresponding respectively to four hands of a cardgame, each row indicating the preferred order of playing the cards of agiven hand; said chart also having thereon another arcuate row of cardindicia corresponding to the indicia of one of the aforementioned handsbut arranged according to suits; and a relatively movable mask for saidchart having window means therein to expose said indicia as said chartand said mask are rotated relatively to each other.

4. In a game educational apparatus, a chart having four arcuate rows ofcard indicia thereon corresponding respectively to four hands of a cardgame, each rowindicating the preferred order of playing the cards of agiven hand; a relatively movable mask for said chart having window meanstherein to expose said indicia as said chart and said mask are rotatedrelatively to each other; and manually movable shutter means positionedon said mask for concealing said window means.

RUSSELL LEO WILLIS.

